Google: Gmail and Chrome are number one worldwide

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For what seems like an eternity, Microsoft has held the number one spot in several key areas of the computing world. Windows remains by far the most widely-installed operating system, and Office the top-selling productivity suite. But they may now have slipped back to the number two spot in a couple very important areas: webmail and browsing.

According to Google’s numbers, Gmail is now the world’s most popular webmail app with an active user base of 425 million and counting. If Google really has taken over the top spot here, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. With one million new Android device activations every single day and Gmail pushed during the first run, it stands to reason that new users would be arriving in droves. Accounts are also pushed on Google.com, Youtube, in Chrome, and pretty much everywhere else Google pops up online.

Comscore isn’t convinced that Hotmail has been ousted, however. Their data pins monthly unique visitors to Hotmail at 325 million and Gmail at 289 million. It’d be hard to call a Gmail user “active” if they’re not even checking in once a month. There is, of course, the possibility that Comscore’s numbers are off. You’d certainly hope Google knew (and reported) the correct count, but sometimes it’s more important to flaunt the biggest number you can.

And speaking of big numbers, Chrome hit version 20 this week. In addition to no longer being a “teenager,” Google reported that Chrome is now the most popular browser on the web. VP of Chrome Sundar Pichai says there are now 310 million regular users.

The folks at StatCounter won’t be at all surprised by this news. They predicted back in January that Chrome would overtake IE for the top spot, and that the changeover would happen in the middle of this year. Recent numbers from both StatCounter and Commscore showed that the gap was incredibly narrow — and even that Chrome may have squeaked past, but it now looks pretty official.

With 8 of the top 25 most-visited sites on the web (and even more of AdSense and Analytics users) pumping data into Mountain View, it’s hard to imagine that their figures would be off.